Deadlines nearing for getting Christmas packages, cards to troops on time

The deadlines for mailing Christmas packages and cards to military and state department post offices are nearing.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The first deadline for making sure Christmas mail and packages arrive on time at military and State Department post offices around the world is Saturday. The deadlines are important because, at least for soldiers, the mail still matters, said Redstone Arsenal Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Angel Clark-Davis.

She has spent a lot of holidays on deployments around the world, far away from family and home. All the cell phones, Skype calls, texts, email and other technology today is no substitute for getting something you can hold in your hand, she said.

"When you've got something that you can touch, not just see or hear - maybe you're a parent and you open up a box from one of your kids - it's different," Clark-Davis said. "A little thing, maybe just a handprint or a drawing, and you know that they actually touched it, that just means the world to a soldier."

There only a few weeks left to mail those packages or cards and be sure they'll arrive before Christmas, according to the U.S. Postal Service and the Military Postal Service Agency. The deadlines are:

Nov. 12 for parcel post mail.

Nov. 26 for space-available mail.

Dec. 3 for parcel airlift mail.

Dec. 10 for priority mail and first-class mail, letters and cards.

Dec. 17 for express mail military service.

And that's assuming there are no problems or delays. Anyone sending to troops overseas - and particularly to those in combat zones - needs to beat the deadlines.

"Express Mail Military Service is not available for holiday packages and mail going to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Faye Slater, deputy director of the Military Postal Service Agency.

Clark-Davis is a Tuscumbia native who has served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudia Arabia, Egypt, Romania and elsewhere. She remembers getting Christmas packages.

"You get this box and you sit there and debate, 'Do I open it now or do I hold it, for anticipation,'" she said. "Been there and done it."

She also remembers being "down range" and getting a box of holiday cheer sent by a first grade class or somebody's mom or grandmother; a little gift and note that says "I don't know you but I just wanted to say I hope you're having a happy holiday."

"It just lifts you up some days," Clark-Davis said. She pointed out that service members on stateside assignments often miss holidays with family, too.

"Of course, when you're in a hostile environment you really need that lifting up a little bit more," she said. "Because you never know what tomorrow will bring."